Ventilating means for a building wall



Jan. 29, 1957 w. L. REHME 2,779,065

' VENTILATING MEANS FOR A BUILDING WALL Filed July 20, 1953 IN VEN TOR.

WILLIAM L. REH M E A1 5" EYS United States Patent VENTILATING MEANS FOR A BUILDING WALL William L. Rehme, Harrington, R. I.

Application July 20, 1953, Serial No. 369,142

1 Claim. (Cl. 20-4) This invention relates to a ventilating means for the space in a building wall.

It has been found in building construction that the space between the outer wall and inner wall of a building sometimes acquires dampness which it is desired should be removed to prevent rot by ventilating this space, that is, providing an opening to the atmosphere for air to pass into the space. In order that this may occur, special formations of shingles or clapboards have been provided which are expensive, or inserts have been provided to extend through the clapboards or outer wall, which inserts are exposed to view and are unsightly.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an opening through the outer wall which will be hidden from view and will not mar the outer surface of the building.

Another object of the invention is to provide a ventilating opening by means of a tube which may be of simple construction and easily inserted in place, thus making special formations of the outer wall unnecessary.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tube which will also carry a screen which will prevent insects from entering the space between the walls.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel method of operation and features of construction as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional view illustrating a fragmental portion of a'building and'showing a clapboard construction of outer wall with my ventilating means in the relative position which it assumes with relation to the space between the inner and outer wall;

Figure 2 is a sectional view on a somewhat larger scale of the ventilating tube alone;

Figure 3 is a section on line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an exploded view showing the tube and its screening means.

In proceeding with this invention, I provide a rigid tube which may be of metal, plastic, or the like with its ends cut on a plane at an angle to its axis. I bore through the edge of the clapboard or shingle upwardly and inwardly at an angle substantially that which the axis bears to the plane of the ends of the tube and then insert this tube in this hole. The tube is provided with screening means so that air but not insects may pass into the space between the walls. The angle is such that water will not enter. One or more of these openings for ventilation may be provided so that circulation may occur, circulation occurring because of the different heights at which the openings may be had.

With reference to the drawings, a building Wall as a whole is illustrated generally at having an inner wall Hce shown at 11 which may be made up of different sections and an outer wall designated generally 12 formed of a supporting vertical portion 13 and overlap sections 14 and 15. These walls are secured to an upright support 18 and provide a space 17 between them. These overlap sections may be either a shingle or clapboard structure and provide an edge such as 16 projecting horizontally outwardly beyond the section beneath it. It is this projecting edge which I utilize for the opening which I provide into the space 17 between the walls 11 and 12. This opening is formed by boring upwardly and at an angle providing a hole 19 in the overlapping section and a hole 20 in the supporting portion 13, which hole may be designated as 21.

I provide a tube 22 having a cylindrical wall 23 and an opening 24 therethrough which is bent inwardly as at 25 to provide an abutment on its inner surface and a recess 26 on its outer surface. A cup 27 is drawn from sheet stock, which provides a cylindrical wall 28 and bottom wall 29, the latter of which is perforated as at 30 so as to form in effect a screen, the cylindrical wall 28 being of such a size that it may be forced into the opening 24 through the tube and against the abutment 25 so as to be frictionally held therein and prevented from being positioned inwardly through the tube. This tube has its ends 31 and 32 in a plane at an angle to the axis of the tube, the angle being suchthat the hole 21 which is bored from the edge 16 to the space 17 will lie flush with the edge when the tube is inserted in this hole. The hole is bored of a diameter so that there is a tight frictional contact between the walls of the hole and the wall 23 of the tube so as to hold the tube in place.

The hole 21 is at such an angle that water will not enter and is at such a location that the hole 21 or tube 22 inserted therein will not ordinarily be visible.

The cup or screen 27 is positioned at a substantial distance from the ends of the tube 22 so as to prevent paint from lodging on the screen to cover the openings thereof.

I have shown the tube 22 inserted in place in the building with the screen at the lower end of the tube. However, the tube may be inserted in the openings of the walls of the building with the screen uppermost if desired.

I claim:

A building construction having an inner wall and an outer wall spaced therefrom, the latter of which has lapped sections providing an edge projecting horizontally beyond the section beneath it, said outer wall having a tube extending from said edge inwardly and upwardly and opening in the space between said walls, the outer end of the tube extending at the same angle as said edge and substantially flush therewith, said tube being crimped circumferentially thereof at a location thereon substantially inwardly of the ends thereof providing an annular abutment at a position substantially inwardly of the ends of the tube and a cup having a perforated bottom located in said tube and engaging said abutment to block the passage of insects through said tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,513,056 Scallon June 27, 1950 2,530,919 Taylor Nov. 21, 1950 2,645,824 Titsworth July 21, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES The Brown Wall Breather by Cornwall and Co. 

